. >> you're not going to grow the economy if you raise tax rates on the top two rates. it will hurt small businesses. it will hurt our economy. >> reporter: the latest abc news/"washington post" poll shows the public is with the president on this debate. on this debate. 60% support raising taxes on incomes higher than $250,000. >> it's going to affect their standard of living very little, if at all, and -- the rest of us are being asked to pay for a party that we weren't invited to. >> congress doesn't do anything, then -- i have a feeling that it's really going to be devastating for next year. >> reporter: on other proposals, the poll shows the public is mixed when it comes to increasing revenue by eliminating the mortgage income tax deduction. but they decidedly do not want to see the medicare eligibility age go up from 65 to 67. >> it bothers me when they say it's an entitlement, when we actually paid all these years when we were working. >> i think it's very difficult for people to reach a compromise, which is unfortunate, because the nation is what suffers. >> repo